: Hmmm, think I'll pass on the three extra bags of shavings. Reckon I'll make
: enough of them myself. :-)

: Making a paddle is a GREAT idea. There were several larger trees lying around
: on that same island. I'll have to think on that.

Know anyone with a chainsaw? Seriously, If you can cut a long enough section from one of the trees, you can tow it back with you.

: That's weird about the weathercocking/leecocking. My boat DEFINITELY turns
: INTO the wind. On a windy, choppy day it is exhausting to paddle on open
: water. I can't go in a straight line but have to angle, cut back, angle,
: etc. plus stop every now and then and just turn the bow in the direction I
: want to go in. Not fun at all. But loading the bow definitely made it
: easier to handle last time out. I wasn't in big open water, but the wind
: was stronger than I've ever been in before for short periods of time
: before I could find more sheltered areas. Guess I'm going to have to do
: some more experimenting.

Wave action has a big influence as well. It's not uncommon to get into situations where the wind is pushing you one way and the waves another. Kayaks natually tend to broach (sit parallel with the waves), so some of what you perceived as weathercocking may have been due to the water rather than the wind. This could explain the contradictory behavior of adding weight to the bow. It's purely speculation, but it makes sense that weighting the bow and unweighting the stern would reduce the tendency to broach, since the wave crests will have less purchase on the stern of the boat and therefore not be able to turn it as easily.

Isn't this fun?